Polo stick



March 5, 1935. MOUNTBATTEN 1,993,334

POLO STICK Filed Aug. 6, 1951 Patented Mar. 5, 1935 narran rares POLO ls'rroK Louis Mountbatten, London, England Application August 6,

1931, vSerial No. 555,552

in Great Britain March' 5, 1931 i i Claims.

This invention relates to appliances for playing polo. According to this invention the head of the striking appliance or stick is made of improved shape so that a different or better contact 5 with the ball in play is obtained than is usual hitherto. By Vthis means the hit on the ball is improved and a better trajectory or iiight or loft obtained in normal flight of the ball after a true hit. Instead of the head being made of conical cylindrical or cigar shape, i. e., with circular cross-section, the head is constructed with an oval or similar cross-section, the major axis or dimension being horizontal and the minor axis or dimension vertical when the ball is being hit normally. In a preferred form of construction the ratio of these dimensions is substantially 6 to 5. It is preferred to derive the oval section from four quadrants, the two hitting ends or faces being similari. e., derived from quadrants of equal radius, and the upper and lower quadrants may be of equal radius or not as desired. By keeping the hitting faces alike dimensionallyand circular in section or cylindrical or cigar shaped in surface the fore and back hand hits on the ball are alike, and are the best obtainable with accuracy allowing for slight deviations from Aperfect strokes. The relative sizes of the quadrants used in building up the cross-sectional shape of the head naturally vary with the actual shape of head required. For example, if the major and minor dimensional ratio of 4 to 3 were required, a perfeet oval section can be built up from two semicircles, the radii of which are in the proportion of 2 to 1. This is eiiected by cutting each semicircle to form a pair of quadrants and then cutting 0H the right angle or 'apex of each of the larger quadrants, so that they can be fitted together with the small quadrants to form an oval profile. Thus re-arranged these four pieces give an oval with rounded ends, similar and circular in shape, and with similar upper and lower parts also circular in shape and of twice the radius of the end parts, and with a vertical to horizontal measurement or head ratio of 3 to 4.

As long as the cylindrical form of the striking ends and the cylindrical form of the lower part of the head are not departed from and a ratio of less than unity is obtained for the ratio of vertical or minor dimension to horizontal or major dimension of the head, the striking head is considered to be the best constructionally possible in accordance with the invention.

In the drawing iiled with this specification',

Fig. 1 shows a central cross-sectional View of a head, and

Fig. 2 a perspective View of a head constructed or shaped in accordance with this invention.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating more particularly the method of constructing one form of head.

Referring rst to Figs. 3, 4 and 5, which illustrate the construction of a head having a major and minor dimensional ratio of 4:3, Fig. 3 shows a semicircle of one unit radiuscut to form two quadrants M and N; and Fig. 4 showsa semicircle of two unit radius out to form two quadrants O and P. The quadrants O and P are next cut out where indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4, this cutting resulting in the mutilated quadrants having their radially directed sides equal in length to one another and to the radius of the smaller quadrants M and N, that is, equal to one unit. The sides vof the mutilated quadrants O and P formed by this cutting are next placed in contact, as shown in Fig. 5, and the smaller quadrants M and N are iinally placed, as indicated'in Fig. 5, to complete the oval. The dotted lines in Fig. 5 serve to deiine the outlines of quadrants O and P as they would appear if they had not been out, and thus to illustrate more clearly the purpose of the cutting.

In the same manner as indicated above, the oval ABAB shown in Fig. 1 is made up of parts of iour'quadrants and the ratio of AA to BB is 5 to 6. In one preferred form of construction the depth AA at the centre of the head is 1% inches and the width BB is 17/8 inches.- The radius of the arc A and the arc A is there 1-13/64 inches, and the radii `of arcs B, B', which are equal, are 47/64 inch respectively at this central section of the polo-stick head. The oval shape is maintained from the centre of the head .to the tips or ends and the ratio of Vdepth to width is preferably maintained also, and as shown in Fig.

2 the head is tapered both ways from the centre Part of the shaft E of the to the tips or ends. stick is shown broken away in Fig. 2 and the tips or ends CD are bevelled as shown at FG so that the ends C, D are partly oval with a straight edge where cut away.

In the practice of the game it hasbeen found and demonstrated that a decided improvement in the trajectory of the ball in flight after a true hit can be obtained from the improved polo-stick when compared with that obtained from the use of any ordinary or other polo-stick. For example in comparing the heights of loft of the ball when hit with the improved stick and with an ordinary circular sectioned stick of make similar inall Vother respects excepting shape .of head it has Vin the head and placed at the appropriate angle.

I claim:-

1. A head for a polo stick, made oval in cross section and having its major axis extending in the direction of the striking movement.

2. A polo stick, the head of which is made oval in cross section and having its major axis extending in the direction of the striking movement, the oval being derived from four circular arcs.

3. A polo stick as claimed in claim 1, in which the ratio of width to depth of the oval is substantially 6 to 5.

4. A polo stick having a head of oval cross section, with the major axis of the oval extending in the direction of the striking movement, and the oval tapering from the center toward each end.

5. A polo stick having a head of oval cross section, with the major axis of the oval extending in the direction of the striking movement, the

voval tapering from the center toward each end,

the ends being beveled on the lower side of the head.

LOUIS MOUNTBATTEN. 

